FZ1inTX
Adminstrator
I thought that moving to Texas would afford me more riding time. I thought the weather change from NH would entice me to be out on the bike more. I thought, since I'd bought a brand-new home, I'd have nothing but time on my hands with no projects to do. I was wrong in so many ways... on too many counts. Don't get me wrong... I'm not regretting the move at all, in fact, I believe it was still the best move we've ever made but after getting here, our lives changed in ways we hadn't imagined. Sure, the house is huge, beautiful, the neighborhood is awesome, the people are friendly and life here is much more relaxing and a LOT less stressful not having to worry about snow and all the labor that goes with it. The problem is mostly me. The problem IS the new house and its location, not because of the neighbors (I said they are great!) but because it has no space, because there are no projects... I found myself utterly bored and lost without having a space to create and build like I had in NH. So, we set out to fix that.... in a big way.
We decided to look for a space we could spread out and build that retirement home, you know, a place where you always felt like you were on vacation, a space where you can do what you want, when you want. We looked over several parcels in rural areas. We found the one we were looking for but after getting there and walking all 18 acres, Michele looked at the plots and wanted to view the 27 acres next to it. So, we drove and walked that property and put an offer in on the spot... and the owner (we went to the source!) took the offer, on the spot. a couple months later, we are land owners. The plan is to pay it off in 10 years and over the next 5 - 8 years, pay out of pocket to put in the driveway, huge garage and a finished shell of a big ranch house. Once that is ready, we will sell this house and use the proceeds to expedite finishing the whole interior of the new house. Because it is over 5 acres, the property is AG exempt. That means we only pay 10% of the tax value regardless of what that value is so long as we remain AG exempt which will be easy enough. Currently, just the 27 acres is $52.00 a year, or 10% of $520 per year. Liking this! Building here is a ton cheaper. A lot of barns and garages are metal buildings. I can put up a 36'x48' garage with a slab for under $24k if I did nothing, less if I do the site-work myself.
Thus, the reason we have no riding time.... I ended up trading in the 4Runner for a Tundra for towing capacity and the truck bed which a rancher must have. Apparently, the Trail Edition 4Runner isn't common here in Texas so the dealer was drooling over it. I only paid $34k for it two years ago... they gave me $32k trade. Two years use for $2k? Nice.... I owed $24k so that gave me $8k to put down on the Tundra. That 5.7 liter is a beast of an engine! But it does have a drinking problem and I'm ok with that... I did not buy it for economical use (Same as any FZ1).
Now, Rancher Randall needs a farm tractor... and he is a bit giddy over it. Who doesn't want to own property with an open license to do what you want while owning a tractor with a loader and a backhoe (TLB)? So, I've been comparing, reading reviews, looking at warranties, watching tons of Youtube from both owners and dealers on models so I'm well informed about use, load capacity, attachment options, maintenance intervals and what dealer will be treating us right not only on the deal but service should it become a 5,000 lb immobile object in the middle of 27 acres in the countryside of Texas. We're close to making a decision and John Deere is already ruled out. JD isn't tough enough in the class tractor I'm looking at and certainly not capable in load capacity. I'm tossing them over the Kubota, Kioti and Mahindra but Branson and Massey Ferguson could still be in the mix. They are all quite pricey for a TLB but I'll admit, I'm anxious to go move earth and dig holes.
For 27 acres, there's not a lot of trees. We have three large ones we intend to keep. EVERYTHING else is what we in New England would call a bush. There's a lot of Honey Mesquite, I mean, I will NEVER have to buy Mesquite to smoke meats with.... ever! We've been clearing the property lines to prepare for fences (In Texas, EVERY property is surrounded with fence by choice). and clearing the area where the driveway will cut through to where we will put up the new home. It was just this past weekend when I had a face-to-face meeting with my first rattlesnake. I'm happy to say that he did not like the chainsaw and left rather than try and fight me. When he turned to leave, I went the other direction.
We've also decided to let the kids each lease 2 acres each from us for $1 annual rent. So far, two of the three intend to build a home out there. The third one would love to but his S.O. doesn't want to be so far from her family so my Son is unable to come for now... maybe later... I understand.
So now you can see why I might throw in the towel, just let the bike become owned by someone who can put the miles on it. On the other hand, I own them all outright and it's only space they occupy, not a financial burden, so it also makes sense to keep them and get that occasional itch scratched and go ride. I will still have a small dirt bike, the grandkids will have a 50cc dirtbike, and we will be getting an ATV with the money from selling the 2007 FZ1. I'll have a lot of options to scratch with. Also, I work almost exclusively from home so I'm no longer using the bike to commute with.
What would ya'll do? Keep? Sell and buy something later? Sell and build a monster track around the property for a 450cc dirtbike?
We decided to look for a space we could spread out and build that retirement home, you know, a place where you always felt like you were on vacation, a space where you can do what you want, when you want. We looked over several parcels in rural areas. We found the one we were looking for but after getting there and walking all 18 acres, Michele looked at the plots and wanted to view the 27 acres next to it. So, we drove and walked that property and put an offer in on the spot... and the owner (we went to the source!) took the offer, on the spot. a couple months later, we are land owners. The plan is to pay it off in 10 years and over the next 5 - 8 years, pay out of pocket to put in the driveway, huge garage and a finished shell of a big ranch house. Once that is ready, we will sell this house and use the proceeds to expedite finishing the whole interior of the new house. Because it is over 5 acres, the property is AG exempt. That means we only pay 10% of the tax value regardless of what that value is so long as we remain AG exempt which will be easy enough. Currently, just the 27 acres is $52.00 a year, or 10% of $520 per year. Liking this! Building here is a ton cheaper. A lot of barns and garages are metal buildings. I can put up a 36'x48' garage with a slab for under $24k if I did nothing, less if I do the site-work myself.
Thus, the reason we have no riding time.... I ended up trading in the 4Runner for a Tundra for towing capacity and the truck bed which a rancher must have. Apparently, the Trail Edition 4Runner isn't common here in Texas so the dealer was drooling over it. I only paid $34k for it two years ago... they gave me $32k trade. Two years use for $2k? Nice.... I owed $24k so that gave me $8k to put down on the Tundra. That 5.7 liter is a beast of an engine! But it does have a drinking problem and I'm ok with that... I did not buy it for economical use (Same as any FZ1).
Now, Rancher Randall needs a farm tractor... and he is a bit giddy over it. Who doesn't want to own property with an open license to do what you want while owning a tractor with a loader and a backhoe (TLB)? So, I've been comparing, reading reviews, looking at warranties, watching tons of Youtube from both owners and dealers on models so I'm well informed about use, load capacity, attachment options, maintenance intervals and what dealer will be treating us right not only on the deal but service should it become a 5,000 lb immobile object in the middle of 27 acres in the countryside of Texas. We're close to making a decision and John Deere is already ruled out. JD isn't tough enough in the class tractor I'm looking at and certainly not capable in load capacity. I'm tossing them over the Kubota, Kioti and Mahindra but Branson and Massey Ferguson could still be in the mix. They are all quite pricey for a TLB but I'll admit, I'm anxious to go move earth and dig holes.
For 27 acres, there's not a lot of trees. We have three large ones we intend to keep. EVERYTHING else is what we in New England would call a bush. There's a lot of Honey Mesquite, I mean, I will NEVER have to buy Mesquite to smoke meats with.... ever! We've been clearing the property lines to prepare for fences (In Texas, EVERY property is surrounded with fence by choice). and clearing the area where the driveway will cut through to where we will put up the new home. It was just this past weekend when I had a face-to-face meeting with my first rattlesnake. I'm happy to say that he did not like the chainsaw and left rather than try and fight me. When he turned to leave, I went the other direction.
We've also decided to let the kids each lease 2 acres each from us for $1 annual rent. So far, two of the three intend to build a home out there. The third one would love to but his S.O. doesn't want to be so far from her family so my Son is unable to come for now... maybe later... I understand.
So now you can see why I might throw in the towel, just let the bike become owned by someone who can put the miles on it. On the other hand, I own them all outright and it's only space they occupy, not a financial burden, so it also makes sense to keep them and get that occasional itch scratched and go ride. I will still have a small dirt bike, the grandkids will have a 50cc dirtbike, and we will be getting an ATV with the money from selling the 2007 FZ1. I'll have a lot of options to scratch with. Also, I work almost exclusively from home so I'm no longer using the bike to commute with.
What would ya'll do? Keep? Sell and buy something later? Sell and build a monster track around the property for a 450cc dirtbike?
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